West Coast Regional and Information Planning

The Ocean Protection Council (OPC) is working closely with the California and the University of Southern California Sea Grant programs to improve scientific understanding in high priority issue areas. As a first step, the OPC is supporting the West Coast Sea Grant programs' initiative to develop a Regional Research and Information Plan for the California Current Large Marine Ecosystem.

An important component of this effort is a stakeholder-driven process to prioritze research and information needs for the West Coast. The goal of Sea Grant and the OPC is to involve the broadest possible range of ocean and coastal interests in the process, including coastal residents, scholars and researchers; community organizations; marine conservation groups; state and local governments; resource managers at both the state and federal levels; and any person or group who depends on ocean resources for livelihood or recreation.